“My game is not changed. It’s pretty much set in stone.”- New York’s Carmelo Anthony.

Isn’t that the problem?

“They’re probably right.”- Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni on James Harden being voted the best shooting guard in the NBA (ahead of Kobe) in the annual GM survey.

Does he have a death wish?

“Last time around, I was a knucklehead.”- Miami’s Michael Beasley on his second go-round with the Heat.

Mike, Phoenix just paid you $12 million to go away and not play for them. Not sure you’ve solved that knucklehead thing.

“I call it ‘pissing the NBA gods off’. You’re making, making, making a lot of shots — and you mess with the basketball game and the game gets you back. And it definitely got me back.”- New York’s J.R. Smith when asked why he struggled so mightily in the playoffs last season.

I’d call it ‘regressing to the mean’.

“I’m most comfortable in the bed.”- New York’s Metta World Peace when asked if he’s more comfortable playing small forward or power forward on defense.

Yep, gold!!

“He’s a country Victorian, true Aussie that is a headbanger. He plays with reckless abandon. He at times might not be pretty, he’s a little bit Neanderthal in how he goes about his business, but he’s for real.”- Sixers coach (and former Boomers coach) Brett Brown on Matthew Dellavedova.

That’s an interesting description of Delly but pretty accurate.

“I know about budgets. I was a drug dealer. To be in a drug deal, you need to know what you can spend, what you need to re-up. Or if you want to start some sort of barbershop or car wash—those were the businesses back then. Things you can get in easily to get out of [that] life. At some point, you have to have an exit strategy, because your window is very small; you’re going to get locked up or you’re going to die.”- Jay Z when asked how his past experiences will help him in his new role as a sports agent.

The Golden Age of Australian Basketball continued today with Matthew Dellavedova securing a place on the Cleveland Cavaliers 15-man roster, and Andrew Bogut receiving a three-year, $36 million extension (with incentives) with the Golden State Warriors.

* Have a look at what Greg Oden did on his first possession in four years. Wow! I think people who call him a ‘bust’ are just so wrong. That term should be used for abject failures like Kwame Brown and Michael Olowokandi, not a guy like Oden who absolutely would have been dominant had his body held up.

As we did last year, throughout the offseason we’re going to delve into the archives and take a look at some of the more memorable moments from previous years. We’ll have game winning shots, dustups and brain snaps, monster jams and much more.

Up now, Nene and Michael Olowokandi square off and exchange ‘punches’ in this 2005 regular season contest between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves.

It almost seems redundant to suggest that the No.1 pick in the draft should be on everyone’s radar. However, Bennett is particularly interesting for a number of reasons. Unlike most teams picking No.1, the Cavs are clearly looking to make a run at the playoffs this year (in addition to keeping their cap space open for a certain Miami Heat superstar).

Bennett doesn’t have the ceiling of some No.1 picks of recent times, but I suspect the Cavs took him because they feel he’s the most ready to contribute at a high level from Day 1. Tweener forwards like him drafted high in recent years haven’t always had the best success rate (what up Derrick Williams?) but Bennett is a multi-skilled offensive player who could find a niche very quickly on this Cavs team, who haven’t been afraid to buck draft orthodoxy in the Chris Grant regime to some success. If he can settle in as a top supporting player to Kyrie Irving, the Cavs look very dangerous. Don’t think LeBron won’t be watching either.

* Grantland’s Zach Lowe tackles the Andrew Bogut contract situation. Lowe is a huge fan of Bogut; check this: “How great is Andrew Bogut? He’s so candid that even media members reading this story thought he might have behaved a tad recklessly in revealing so much. A bunch of my Twitter followers from Australia responded to a tweet about Bogut’s blunt truth-telling by saying, essentially, “This is how Aussies are, mate.” I have to visit Australia one day. You guys seem like the best people. What are you hiding, other than, like, the 50 most dangerous animal species on earth?”

* TrueHoop with some interesting stats on LeBron’s post game. In the 2013 postseason he averaged about four post-up plays per game. For me, considering that he is virtually unguardable down there that number is still way too low. I hope to ask LeBron a few questions on this when I visit Miami in three weeks time.